The Beauty of Magic
by Ayoshen
Summary: Prompt; "Swan Queen: Either SB or FTL: They go for a swim, one of the ladies can't keep her hands to herself." Shameless post-curse fluffy smut of no regrets in which Applejack returns. -hint hint-


**The Beauty of Magic**

One thing Emma truly admired about her fairytale homeland was the nature. That is, there was a lot of things Emma enjoyed in the kingdom that hadn't been present in the other real world; namely magic all around - in the fluttering of fairy wings overhead, the whispering roses, the legend of a unicorn hiding in the woods and only coming out during an eclipse, and you wouldn't want to get her started on Regina's royal wardrobe - a whole other kind of magic in _that_. But Emma, being so unfamiliar with and not at all used to magic, needed something substantial to hold onto. Something to remind her of the past which, granted, might not have been paved with rose petals, but it had gotten her here, hadn't it? It had given her happiness that still seemed unreal and alien.

That's why Emma - or "princess Emma" as they wanted to call her now, but she insisted they don't - spent most of her days alone in the woods, accompanied only by her mare Applejack. She had an entire stable at her disposal, yet she always made this one wear the reins in the morning. Maybe it was because Applejack's dark color reminded her of one of her jackets, another familiar thing. Maybe it was because on her first night in the castle, after a particularly intense panic attack when she didn't know what happened to Regina - who had mysteriously disappeared when the curse had been broken, only to be found later, but that is a story for another day - Emma found herself in her pen, crying herself to sleep in tune with Applejack's quiet breathing. In any case, the two were inseparable.

"So have you figured out the secret to blissful immortality yet?"

Emma sat up on the carpet of leaves to see queen Regina smirking down at her. And then Regina's hand found itself in front of Emma's face, inviting her to take it.

"Let me show you something, dear."

Emma had learned to expect anything and everything from Regina, but she was still struck speechless when Regina led her to a clearing in the woods, where sun shone down on a lake shimmering like a thousand glassy beads. There had been no lakes around Storybrooke, only the lone well. Emma remembered Wayne's words;_ if anything possesses magic, it's water._

"Care to swim with me, _princess_ Emma?" Regina asked, clearly mocking her (and having fun with it). "Or should I say queen-to-be?"

"You do realize we'll never decide who takes care of what in the kingdom if I do become your queen, right?" Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

"Dear, we've already decided," Regina deadpanned before she started to unlace her dress in the front, making sure to turn her back to Emma in more provocation.

Emma was going to reply something along the lines of _YOU decided,_ but instead found herself very, very distracted by the smooth curve of Regina's back and pronounced shoulder blades. Seducing her in front of poor Applejack, who was fortunately oblivious to the scene and innocently chewing straws of grass, with impunity; this woman knew no bounds indeed.

Two could play at this game, though. So when the two dived in the refreshing water, Emma made sure to _accidentally_ make skin contact with Regina as often as possible, unsure of what she was hoping to accomplish herself - but hey, that was half the fun with Regina. One never saw anything coming. At first, the subtle touches only earned her a raised eyebrow from the brunette, but the fourth time she broke.

"Do I sense some sort of mischief going on here?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Emma turned away, smirking like the teasing culprit she was.

All of a sudden, a pair of arms circled her underwater, one settling on her stomach and the other just above her breasts before she could realize what was happening, making her breathing hitch.

"Is that so?" Regina purred in her ear from behind. "Because you seem…" she paused, one hand snaking its way down the blonde's abdomen and past the all too familiar curls. Watching Emma's face flush with arousal, she waited before she rubbed her center with the back of her hand, in response to which Emma bit her lower lip and shook a little as her knees gave in, leaving Regina alone to hold her. "…extra clumsy today," Regina grinned.

She really was a witch, Emma thought, because no one else could do this to her on such short notice. No one else could ever make her whimper like she did for Regina, make her legs go weak, make her body stiffen with a single touch. It really wasn't fair at all and Emma would have complained out loud, but there was no time for that when Regina's middle finger found her entrance and a pair of lips began kissing their way up and down Emma's neck, the combination sending shivers down her spine.

"Regina—We can't—" Emma whispered in between ragged breaths.

"Whyever not?" Regina asked innocently in contrast to a rough squeeze of the younger woman's breast.

Emma's nails automatically dug into Regina's thighs. "A—Applejack," she stuttered.

The brunette chuckled at her partner's newfound shyness. She certainly hadn't been worried about that in Storybrooke. "She's not paying any attention to us, dear. Besides, she's an adult too. She knows how these things go," she said, punctuating her words by adding a second finger and curling it inside Emma. Satisfied at the yelp Emma couldn't suppress, she nuzzled the princess's neck. "But if you're so worried about attracting unwanted attention, there are… ways around that," she said, portraying the idea by covering Emma's mouth with her own hand to stifle the moans both knew very well were coming.

If Emma had any problem with that, she certainly didn't let it show. Or perhaps it was because of a certain brunette's fingers sliding in and out of Emma, her leg positioned between the other woman's in order to both turn her on even more and steady her; one simply couldn't be certain.

Emma was frankly too preoccupied to give a damn anymore and she was convinced half the noises she was making could not be considered human and she was going to scream _please_ but that was a) impossible and b) unnecessary because Regina had made her goal in this very clear. There was so much friction one would think the whole lake should have bristled with electricity, but fortunately it didn't. And again it was Regina's fault. And again she was taking control over her and everything she would do.

And again Emma didn't care in the slightest and instead bucked into Regina, screaming her name into the brunette's palm as she came, dizzy and disoriented from the force of this experience.

As Regina cradled her by the shore, the first thing Emma thought was that the woman here with her showed her how beautiful magic could be despite her initial fear and distrust for something so foreign.

Then she thought, lips curling into an impish smile, that she was more than ready to get her payback.


End file.
